Day 4 - Grigor Dimitrov v David Goffin Tennis: World Tour Finals

I love being on the water. It's so

special from all the other

tournaments. For me here, it's

always been a goal of mine. I have

obviously achieved it. Nothing beats

the feeling when you hear your name.

Grigor Dimitrov!

Walking out on the

floor and you feel like a total rock

star, getting out there, wow. I

don't know how you get used to that.

Those are the moments I appreciate

and cherish. It's also what I have

worked for so hard. I'm glad I got

through the first match.

Grigor

Dimitrov opens its account.

It's

important for me to put myself out

there. Do better than my previous

match. And every day I go out there

and do something a little better. I

will go out there, put myself out

there and give 100%.

Good afternoon.

That's a cool way to arrive for the

ATP World Tour Finals. Not

struggling through the Blackwall

tunnel for Grigor Dimitrov. He's up

against David Goffin today, the

victor over Rafa Nadal.

Thank you

for my card, you were so rude in it!

If people only knew what you were

really like. I thought she was so

nice, that girl!

You haven't seen

the present yet! Save that for

later. And Dimitrov there, he gets

the media. He gives of himself and

we get to know his personality.

Very

much so. This event, he has taken a

few years to get here. He has shown

promise, had an unfair labelling as

the next Federer. Now he is playing

proper tennis and his first match

here against Dominic Thiem, he did

well to get through because he

served the match at 5-4 in the

third, lost his serve and was able

to break again and finished it off.

They both had really impressive

first matches. The way the round

robin format works, it's all to play

for today.

How beautiful is this

match is going to be today, the way

these guys play?

I love the way

David Goffin plays, a little guy,

but moves the ball around. He is

making history for his country on

the male side. We have had Kim

Clijsters who has been around for

many years. Both players like to

showcase their talent on the court

and I think it will be an attractive

match. If Tim Henman here picks

Goffin to win this, then I will take

another capacity of him because I

will go Dimitrov.

ANNOUNCER:

David

Goffin!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

DANCE MUSIC

Ladies and gentlemen, playing his

first season finale. Winner of seven

ATP world tour titles, from

Bulgaria, Grigor Dimitrov.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

DANCE MUSIC

STUDIO: You left that hanging, Tim,

but you said you think David Goffin

will win the match. Having beaten

world number one Rafa Nadal, even

though he was just on one leg for

about a set and a half.

Yesterday

when we were talking about the

matchup between Jack Sock and Marin

Cilic, I thought it was a 50-50

match and it was always going to be

pretty tired. I think Cilic should

have come through the match but he

didn't. I think this is another

50-50 match. Looking at their

head-to-head, I think Goffin will

have taken confidence from the

victory of an adult and playing this

event for the first time, he will

fancy his chances. I can see both

sides of the coin. -- his victory

over Nadal.

You are relentlessly

wrong all the time, but your logic

is perfect. I think Dimitrov has a

bit too much firepower. When he

plays with confidence in front of

all these people, I think he will

embrace his opportunity. Any win

gets into to the semifinals. I think

he has too much firepower. We see,

but I think it'll be a looking

match.

Dimitrov is a great showman.

He has embraced the concept of the

atmosphere. He played exceptionally

well in his first match.

He did. Had

some near misses with this event.

Had a qualifier, players missing out

with injury this year, it was a good

opportunity for a lot of guys. He

has stepped up and played good

tennis recently. You reflect on the

first round match against Dominic

Thiem. It was a good win. And to get

your first victory in the

round-robin format it bodes well for

him.

We have Sue helping with the

coin toss. A quick photo.

Well done with the coin toss to Sue.

We saw Grigor Dimitrov riding on the

boat for that match and on that

journey he was joined by Jonathan

Overend.

This is the way to travel,

isn't it!

Every day, we get on the

boat and it feels so nice. It

reminds me a little bit of home. I

love being on the water.

And all the

other tournaments it's car, car,

more cars and a bit of walking. But

anything at all like this?

Different?

Nothing like this. I have

been many times on the river out

here and every time I have loved it,

but going to practice this way, it's

pretty fancy when you think about

it.

Let's talk about the tennis. How

did you feel when Rafa Nadal

announced he was heading back?

I was

most looking forward to playing

against Rafa, I'm not going to lie.

I was ready to play that, this

match, but things don't always go

the way you plan. It's sad to see

him go. It's not an easy sport, it's

hard on your body. But your moment

comes around sometimes.

This is a

huge match in your group now, you

against David Goffin.

He has been

playing so well, especially towards

the end of the year. I don't look at

it that way. I'm just excited to get

out on the court and perform. It's

important for me to put myself out

there and try to be better than my

previous match. This is one of my

main goals, even when I am off the

tournament, to come out every day

and do something a little bit

better. I will come out, put myself

out there and give 100%. Follow my

instinct and follow my game and go

on from there.

STUDIO: Not giving

much away there. Taking it one match

at a time. He's had a fabulous year.

Winning at Brisbane, getting through

to the semis in Australia and

winning Cincinnati. Some big

breakthroughs for him.

Absolutely

right. This has been a transforming

year. When he started working with

Danny he was down to number 40 in

the world and we thought, how is

that possible for a guy of this much

ability? I think Danny has brought a

lot of structure to the way he has

practised, the way he has trained in

the gym. He has been able to take

that form to the match court and has

been so much more consistent. The

way he started the year with

Brisbane and the Australian Open and

then rounding it off with a Masters

1000 win in Cincinnati. He's back in

the top ten where he deserves to be.

With the round robin format we have

in the finals, we get to the

situation where we start looking at

who can get through to the

semifinals. With the permutations,

Tim, all yours.

Please no!

The

simplest way to explain things, if

Dimitrov wins he will be through to

the semifinals. Goffin needs a

straight sets win to get his place,

otherwise he will have to wait until

the result tonight's match.

And

that's easy. It's three

combinations, simple to understand.

Over the course of the rest of the

week it can get extremely

complicated.

It did get complicated

with Rafa Nadal withdrawing from the

tournament. Pablo Carreno Busta is

coming in to replace him. Goffin is

one of the best movers on the tour.

The big thing to watch out for

today, from the back of the court,

when they get into their rallies,

how well Goffin strikes down the

line. That's the way he likes to

attack. He will come into the net to

finish the ball. Not a massive

serve, but a good location server.

The attack down the line, if he

finds that than he has a chance of

winning this. But the head to head

is not in his favour. But he took

his country to the Davis Cup final

twice and is a wonderful player.

He

is five foot 11 and he weighs 68

kilos.

Have you been putting him on

the scales?

Compare to the others,

Marin Cilic is the heaviest of the

eight, 89 kilos. Having a laugh with

Gilles Simon, the next person in the

top ten under 70 kilos. Kei

Nishikori, he's 75 kilos. He is a

small man.

He is, but the way he

covers the court I think is part of

that. He's not the biggest guy so

will not have the biggest weapons

compared to the other top ten

players. You know he has to be

incredibly efficient and fast with

his movement. The changes direction

with the ball very well and gives

very little away. A very good

competitor. I think that was evident

when he played Rafa Nadal,

irrespective of how Nadal was

feeling. When he had match point in

the second set, he didn't take them,

didn't get flustered, stuck in there

in the third and got the win. With

both guys winning their first match

there is a lot to play for here and

it adds to the excitement.

It really

does. If you are a kid watching

this, these are two players you

could really learn from. Great role

models on how to play the game.

Solid technique. I think the

majority points will be played from

the baseline, as is the case these

days. I think Dimitrov will look to

be more offensive. He is more

proactive. It's whether he can be

aggressive and keep the unforced

error count down. With Goffin's

footwork and speed, sometimes when

you are being aggressive and the

ball comes back, you get closer to

the line. That's an unforced errors

creep in.

We just saw Danny there.

Everybody has been crying out for

Dimitrov do have somebody in his

camp, but he has been looking for

somebody to gel with.

The pieces of

the puzzle have always been there

for Dimitrov, but it's how he puts

them together. His game, he's

technically sound, a great athlete,

trains and competes hard, but you

have to have an understanding of how

you play to your strengths. That has

been the turning point for him this

year, he has looked aggressive and

offensive at the right times. He can

stay in rallies. The match against

Dominic Thiem was an example of

that.

Will you go and get the kettle

on now?

My track record has been

poor, to say the least. But I am

going to go with Goffin. It will be

interesting to watch.

Tim, thank you

very much. Over to the birthday boy.

COMMENTATOR: Thank you very much was

that there is a cake in here and I

am so pleased about it. I will keep

quiet, eat the cake and enjoy what

could be a very exciting tennis bat.

Victory for Dimitrov will take him

through to the semifinals. For

Goffin, victory in straight sets

will see him through. A victory in

three and we will have to do some

mathematics. But let's enjoy the

tennis. UMPIRE: Ready for play,

first set, Dimitrov to serve.

Dimitrov came to the net 25 times in

his first-round match, winning 21 of

the points. When you have a ratio

like that, I really think you could

look to get in a little bit more.

For me, it's been a real common

theme of this event this year, the

quality of matches from the first

point onwards has been so good.

There is no easing your way in and

finding a rhythm. It is sixth gear

from the word go.

A great match last night with

Zverev, the 20 year rolled against

Roger Federer. Three sets. I thought

the first two sets were spectacular.

Tim, you talk about the numbers and

analysis. Sometimes there is

paralysis by analysis. Sometimes

there are too many numbers around

each individual point and how you

structure each individual time is

lost in a haze of numbers. But the

backhand placement is a case in

point here. The coaches, one of

their jobs now is to look at the

information and to glean little bits

and tell their man. Certainly Danny

will have spoken to Dimitrov about

the ratio of getting to the net.

Very much so. It's like we have

tried to explain with the statistics

we get during the broadcast.

You are

brilliant with them.

High praise.

There are good ones, bad ones,

relevant ones and not so relevant

ones. But when you see Dimitrov's

technique at the net, he should get

them all. -- get there more.

If you could change your pick for

the winner of this match, would you

change it now?

Yes. Six points gone

and 5-1 down.

But I'm not going to.

Good, stick

with it.

83 mile an hour second serve. That's

going to get the job done. Not these

days. That's one area I think both

players can be looking to attack.

Dimitrov's second serve can get a

little shaky.

Lovely improvisation from the

Belgian player. Just slowed the ball

down. Had to get his feet into

position and adjust. The forehand

instead of the backhand, as he

overran. Still facing two break

points.

UMPIRE:

Mr Goffin challenging the

call. The ball was called out.

It

was close, but I think it's just

wide.

Call stands.

That's massive from Dimitrov as he

breaks Goffin.

Good matchplay from

Dimitrov. Asking the question. Got

the break points, got the short

ball. Not the best approach, but

when you are down 15-40 on your own

serve early in the match, it's not

always easy to hit great passing

shots.

Goffin could have gone down

the line on that one. Pulled it

wide.

Played one of the matches of the

year at the Australian Open. The

coaching, training and physio camp

there, Dani Vallverdu on the

right-hand side. It was an amazing

way for the tennis year to start.

The Australian Open often produces

great matches.

Do you think that's because the

players come out so fresh after the

break?

Absolutely.

Playing well, really, really well.

Going in and closing. Anything above

the height of the net is getting the

treatment. Technique looks so solid

as well. Completely pumped with lots

of support from the Bulgarian fans.

Lots of Bulgarian flags, anyway.

This is the afternoon offering. The

third day. This is how he closed out

the game and has capitalised on the

break of serve. So often compared to

Roger Federer, but those comparisons

are disappearing now. He is his own

man, 26 years of age. He certainly

looks up to Federer, but he has

these guys in his sights. He wants

Grand Slam titles himself. Last

night, the great man himself, Roger

Federer in action. This was match

point against Alex Clare. It

finished on a double fault. --

against Alex Zverev. Could so easily

have been a match that Zverev won. I

think I saw something in Sascha

Zverev last night that I know a lot

of people have seen, but he really

does look like the real deal, as we

celebrate another Federer victory to

guarantee his semifinal place.

He

certainly is the real deal. Already

number three in the world. He has

played some great tennis. The area

he will improve on as he matures is

his overall consistency. Played some

great tennis in the first game and

was up 4-0 in the first set

tie-break. He had opportunities.

Federer was erratic from his point

of view.

He couldn't get on the

front foot as much as he would like.

Might have been two or 3% less sharp

than other times. But his

frustration was evident from early

in the match. He looks testy.

A bit

grumpy. It happens as you get older,

Andrew!

What would you know?

If you can't get on the front foot

and you Roger Federer, that tells

you something about the opposition,

Zverev.

Certainly does.

My man in this match is struggling

to get the front foot. Only the

fourth point Goffin has won.

Impressive from Dimitrov.

It's difficult when you get off to

start like this in a match and you

don't a big weapon to go to. -- you

don't have a big weapon to go to.

You want and need a couple of cheap

points to get your side of the

scoreboard moving.

Good work.

David Goffin, 55

victories on tour this year. First

couple of titles in more than two

years as well, victories in Shenzhen

and Tokyo.

Even if this first set doesn't go

his way, he actually has more wins

in deciding set this season than any

other player. 21 times he has gone

to a decider and won it. Winning 21

and losing five. That's very

impressive, over three and five

sets.

Peter Djokovic in Monte Carlo. Beats

Nadal here. Although the port right

knee of Nadal playing a role. --

beat Djokovic.

Too long.

The first double fault of the match.

It is amazing how quickly this can

turn around. It looks like one-way

traffic for Dimitrov and it is, if

Goffin holds on here and a couple of

early points in a Dimitrov service

game, it can quickly come back.

Are

you trying to be nice to me? Put the

kettle on.

What a point! Fantastic.

A good job this court has got a big

run back.

Not even that go fast a strike could

help Goffin there.

Changing the direction of his

attack. He is a player that likes to

go down the line. 7.5 minutes of

this second service game for the

Belgian player.

He hasn't found the range down the

flanks yet.

That's unlucky and the pressure

tells from Dimitrov who might have

wrapped up the first set with that

second break 4-0. You don't want to

take your foot off the gas even at

4-0 against somebody like Goffin,

but that's a great start from the

Bulgarian and really insightful

stuff. It will turn round, old boy.

It's your birthday, I had to give

you the first choice.

Is that

chapped? Whatever I say.

This is

what happened?

Well, absolutely one-way traffic.

Well, it can't go on like this, but

Federer against Murray the other

year when it was 5-0, that was a

duffing that continued for quite

sometime. And to Murray's credit he

came back and actually played

exhibition a couple of days after

that. Federer pailed out and had to

play Wawrinka that marathon. Just 24

minutes of play here and this is a

first qualification at the season

ending championship for Grigor

Dimitrov, three victories on tour

this year. He started by winning

Brisbane over Nishikori. He carried

on his great form into the

Australian Open and lost in five

sets to Rafa Nadal. Up to a career

high of number six and he won in

Bulgaria, beating the man he is

playing today, David Goffin and then

there was the ATP Masters 1,000

series, he won in Cincinnati and

beat Nick Kyrgios and really a year

of maturity for Dimitrov. He's a

grown-up now. I mean that advisedly.

The first few years out on the tour,

you couldn't say that about him. He

was going hell for leather, but now

you feel it's about the tennis.

Dimitrov's intensity is impressive.

He knows he made a great start. He

doesn't want to give Goffin any

chance to settle in this match.

That's pretty embarrassing when it

happens to you like this, when you

can't pick up a game. Even when the

effort is clearly there and there

has been decent tennis from Goffin

at times, but it does feel a bit

embarrassing. You want the court to

swallow you up.

Well, there we go!

Simply magnificent. 27 minutes and

that included the second Goffin

service game of eight minutes. Very,

very impressive from Dimitrov. I

have to say Goffin will be

embarrassed at the moment, but he

must fight back and show the resolve

that he has shown all year. He

certainly should not be embarrassed

with the year he has had making the

final eight. In fact he beat Rafa

Nadal two days ago, I know he was

injured, but when you have had a

duffing like that in the first-half

an hour or so, you have got to

change things up somehow, haven't

you?

He has got to show resilience

and the maturity not to panic. He is

only down one set. But there is no

doubt the early part of the second

set is going to be vitally important

for him to get some sort of foothold

in the match. The scary thing for

Goffin is that in the first set,

Dimitrov only made 36% of first

serves, but he still has only

dropped two points on his serve.

And every little contest in that

first set was one by Dimitrov. When

Goffin missed his first serve, the

points on second serve, that Goffin

played, he won just one of those. It

tells you everything you need to

know really about halfs winning from

the back of the court. This is where

the next generals could really make

a difference to this match. If you

were having a little whisper in

David's ear now and you were

coaching him, what would you say?

Forget about that first set.

LAUGHTER

Or, "Come on, laddie, I've had a bet

on you."

He has got to stick to his

guns. Plan A to dictate from the

baseline and not make unforced

errors. He has got to do it better

in the second set.

I think when he

gets a look at second serve and he

had a few, he has got to be alert

and try and be offensive. Get

himself on the front foot.

Rather

than let Dimitrov dictating.

And it's a funny thing. A lot of

people will say in tennis, it can be

a bit dangerous when you win a set

6-0 and I don't know why people say

that, but I understand what they

mean.

Yes.

So when they say that, what do they

mean and why?

It is just sometimes

when you won a set 6-0, it is

sometimes difficult to maintain that

dominance. Obviously your opponent

is really looking to try and turn

the tide. A lot of times you see in

the results a person that wins a set

6-0 loses the next set. I'm

clutching at strews.

You are!

-- straws. I know what you mean. If

anything goes wrong from 6-0, if

that wonderful that's taken you

through the match, if that flow

stops for a second, it can be a real

shock to the system. It doesn't look

like it's going to happen at this

point from Dimitrov.

That's only the first ace for

Dimitrov. He has not got the job

done with aces, but just well placed

serves. Fire power from the back of

the court.

Very uncomfortable for a really

strong player, David Goffin. I love

watching him play. He came up

through the futures and the

challengers. On the challengers

circuit, he won four tournaments in

a row. He was somebody, I felt when

he was 100, 120 in the world he was

going to rise quickly and he did. He

took his country to two Divis Cup

finals against France this year.

He

played Federer at Roland Garros.

He

qualified and I think made fourth

round.

He had a lot of chances in

that round. It was one of the first

chances I saw him play and I was

mightily impressed, but he needs to

turn something around here pretty

sharpish.

This is a massive game for

him. He must win this.

Serve and

volley.

There is nothing he can't

do.

The coach to Goffin. He might be the

coach for another half an hour if he

doesn't start picking up a few

games!

Oh dear. Come on. Keep going. He

doesn't have any big serves or

massive ones that you feel he could

just power his way to one game

without thinking, but more pressure.

Wow. This is perfection from

Dimitrov. It really is.

Cruising to the semi-finals on

debut.

Sue asked me back to the

studio after this match, can you

tell her I'm busy? I've got another

appointment that just cropped up!

Don't worry I'm going to mangle you

before you get there!

I just feel sorry for Goffin at this

point, you do feel it, when the

crowd start oohing and ahing.

That's the problem in this day and

age and certainly for a player like

Goffin who is a fantastic player,

top ten in the world for a reason,

Plan B, what is Plan B? Is there a

Plan B? He's not someone that can

suddenly start chipping and

charging, serving and volleying.

Getting so few opportunities from

Dimitrov.

OK, that's some light in the

darkness for Goffin.

So, this is as rare as hen's teeth.

This is a break point for Goffin. A

chance for him to salvage some pride

out of the ashes of his predictions.

That didn't last long.

Well, it's a real shame for Goffin.

He had a single break point there

and he's striking the ball generally

pretty well. Just absolutely been

played off the court. It turns into

a bit of embarrassment, but we

should celebrate the Dimitrov

performance. The Bulgarians can't

get enough of him. He has won Sports

Person of the Year. He realised he

had to get out and to improve

himself he went to the south Sanchez

Academy. So from an early age he has

been travelling and it toughened him

up, but he has been out there for

ten years as a professional, but we

are seeing a different sort of

Dimitrov than we have seen before,

Tim.

He's normally associated with

the flamboyant shot making ability,

but here he has been so good

mentally, he has been so intense. He

had no let ups and given his

opponent so little to hold on to and

it's an uncomfortable position, nine

games in a row and without a major

weapon, a big serve to get three

points. It's very difficult to see

how Goffin can get back into it.

Thinking of those people stars that

made, I'm really into Stevie Wonder

at the moment, they have got great

music. It is not as loud as it was

on the first day or two. Thinking

about the football stars.

Dimitrov 3-0 up second set.

Did Roger beat Gastro in the Tour

Finals?

You looked that up!

This is amazing. Oh boy, poor old

Goffin.

You know he did and I don't know

what year it was, in Shanghai, I am

being told. I will save you the

trouble of poking your phone!

How do you beat Gaudio 11-0?

And if he was playing that badly, it

would be fine, but it's not that

bad.

Federer's was in the semis.

Ridiculous. This guy who is about to

lose zero and zero maybe, beats

Nadal on Monday.

Make an effort, Dimitrov! For! Just

charging after everything. The first

piece of court coverage was this.

Slid into this, was off and running

again. Thought he was able to pick

it up.

Yes. This is going to be a big roar

if you can pump another server in

here.

Never a good feeling when you

get sympathetic applause, but it's

good when you hear it.

Maybe it's

the start of the comeback.

Yes! Game on. It took 48 minutes to

put his foot on the first step. It's

only one break.

Here we go.

Irrespective of the score and

irrespective of his performance,

Goffin has stayed pretty

level-headed. It would be easy to

throw his toys out of the pram.

The grin on your face.

On your

birthday, I can't get more generous

than this. Do you want to change

your pick?

I wouldn't do it for many

people, but I am prepared, if you

want to change.

I will stick with it

now, but come back to me in ten

minutes. Keep the offer open. I have

to consult the committee. He's got a

coaching violation! And that's a

little bit odd.

Just leave it, he's

saying.

The coach told you to use

your forehand. You might not have

heard it, but he did.

You feel like

you are being informed upon by

somebody in the class who has gone

to the teacher when that happens.

It's really irritating. It's

annoying if you get a code violation

when you don't even hear what the

coach said, and the line judge did.

Where does the encouragement that he

is giving now, where to step in,

what's the difference with that?

Use

your forehand is pretty clear-cut.

Step in, that's pretty clear.

Use

your feet, it's a tough one.

I don't like it, the line judges

taking it upon themselves to sneak

to the teacher.

You would let it

annoy you.

You were so good in

school, nothing would bother you.

I

don't think school has much to do

with it, but you do get grumpy.

It

doesn't take much.

I think Greg Dimitrov has handled it

perfectly.

Greg Orton Greg

that's tremendous.

Dani Vallverdu, he used to be with

Tomas Berdych. A bit of to do down

there. Do you remember that? Murray

against Berdych, because he was with

Murray for so long.

Challenging the call on the right

baseline. The ball was called out.

It's this fella on the line. Put him

under the spotlight here. Go and

tell on your player, will you? You

know what, fair enough.

He's on his

game, this guy.

Did he just gulp?

He

said, never in doubt.

I think he has

a guilty looking face.

This is getting close.

If Dimitrov

is unable to get through this game,

you will have had a pretty rotten 12

or 13 minutes in self.

Heavy, flat approach shot. If that's

what this is. Belted into the

corner. It's going through this

surface quite a bit quicker than

last year.

Fabulous.

I think that fist was over to his

coach. But not exactly sure. Could

have been over at the line judge. He

was only doing his job. We are just

having a bit of fun. The coach is

not allowed on court. Grigor

Dimitrov has had a number of coaches

over the years. In-store tomorrow on

BBC Two...

Roger Federer free from the shackles

of waiting to find out if he has

qualified or not. Some freelancing

for Roger Federer, enjoying himself

against Marin Cilic. A repeat of the

Wimbledon final for the O2 crowd.

With Alex Zverev later on in the

evening playing for second position

against Jack Sock. That should be

entertaining. Dimitrov has had a

number of coaches over the years.

Seems to have settled with Dani

Vallverdu. Has had a number of

coaches including the taskmaster

Australian Rodger Rashid. Before

that there was Mouratoglou. Before

that was Peter McNamara, who was

disappointed to lose him as Dimitrov

became an adult. 18 years of age.

Peter Lundgren at the beginning. And

also Franco Davin.

He lists that as his favourite shot,

the backhand down the line. Feels

great for a single-handed to get

hold of one of those. Seeing the

ball so well.

That's nicely done.

Variation. Nothing wrong with it,

really.

Is this a slight fake?

No,

not really.

Brilliant shot from Dimitrov. A

solid return to get the ball back so

deep from Goffin, but stepping in on

the half-volley. Nudging it down the

line.

It looked a bit wide, didn't it?

Outside edge, if anything, you would

have thought. Wide indeed. Your

eyesight is better than your

predictions!

What a waste. That will make a play

across.

Second serve return, he has

to be aggressive. At this stage of

the match he has to be aggressive

and make it.

After a struggle, completing the

service game.

That's very

comfortable, turning up, a set

anti-do. Going back to that Federer

and Zverev match, we have seen a lot

of good matches this week, but the

work of the physical coaches often

goes unnoticed. Jez Green is getting

Alex Zverev to put weight on

gradually. They reckon it's a two or

three-year process. Noticeable

yesterday that Zverev is much

stronger than he was. I want to

salute the good work of Jez and

those trainers. You can't just do it

in a few weeks. It takes time.

Yes,

you have to grow into your body

naturally. He's six foot six. You

don't want to rush that process. He

is stronger in his legs. As he

matures and grows into his body, he

will put on some good weight. Muscle

mass, helping with his endurance,

movement and injury prevention.

Another step on the way to becoming

one of the best players if not the

best player in the world at one

stage.

They do have specific goals

on how they want to accumulate that

weight. It remains to be seen where

the defending champion and former

world number one Andy Murray will be

when he tries to come back in about

six weeks or so. That'll be at

Brisbane ahead of the Australian

Open. We hope he's OK. No word about

his hip, apart from glorified

silence. You don't hear much.

He

keeps his cards close to his chest

and rightly so. He's working very

hard. He was in Scott and for his

charity foundation event against

Federer and we all like to think

he's moving in the right direction.

-- he was in Scotland.

We go back a couple of days and

Dimitrov had some trouble serving

out the match against Dominic Thiem.

Lost his serve. You sense from his

intensity here that he is keen to

finish off without going through

that process.

At the other end of the court,

Goffin will appreciate he has been

given a lesson up to this point, but

he still wants Dimitrov to serve it

out.

That was a point for the semifinals

on debut for Dimitrov. Expect the

nerves to be jangling a little bit

for the Bulgarian. Well done to

Goffin, still hanging in there.

A second semifinal point for

Dimitrov. One hour and 12 minutes

played.

No.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

At the third time of asking, Grigor

Dimitrov with the forehand down the

line to complete a comprehensive

victory. One hour and 14 in the end.

The third match point. Dimitrov gets

the job done. He's into the

semifinals at the ATP Tour finals.

And this is what it means to him.

It's wonderful, really. We have seen

him in London, ever since Chris, the

boss of the ATP Tour, gave him a

wildcard and gave him criticism for

it, at Queen's Club. He won that

event. A semifinalist at Wimbledon

and the Australian Open. As now at

least a semifinalist here in London.

Well done to him. David Goffin lives

to fight another day. He could still

go through from the group. He has

beaten Rafa Nadal this week,

although that's thrashing will have

hurt him. Let's hope he bounces back

and realise is that these things can

happen.

We have seen some wonderful matches

this week. The Zverev and Federer

encounter last night was wonderful.

The Nadal and Goffin match was

wonderful. As was Cilic against Sock

yesterday afternoon. There is an

awful lot more to come this week. We

hope you are enjoying it. This one

wasn't spectacular, very one-sided.

The excellent tennis was coming from

Dimitrov. It's a new Dimitrov at 26

years of age. The best is yet to

come, I think, from Dimitrov. A very

strong performance. We should find

out what he made of that

performance. He's talking to

Annabel.

Well played, that was a

masterclass out here. You were on

fire. Give your thoughts on that

performance.

I'm just thinking right

now, as soon as it finished, you get

a fair few days out of the year that

whatever you touch turns to gold. I

think today, that was the first set

for sure. You have days like that,

simple as that. But I work for those

days. It's very nice when they come

on such an occasion. I'm very

humbled to win that match. I just

wanted to come out and compete

today. Again, very grateful. It's

just a special win for me. We have

played quite a few times against

each other and we know our games so

well. There was also a little bit...

CHEERING

It's a special day for surement I

just want to say thanks to my team.

My family and friends are here. They

are my family too. All my family

came to support me. So it's and you

guys... And yeah, we move on.

Well,

as you say, you have plenty of

support here. You talked about the

nerves the other day. You seemed to

play with a lot of ease, but you

played with a lot of variety. What

aspects of your game were you most

pleased with today?

I think my

movement was great. I was putting a

lot of returns back on the court. I

was just believing in my shots, as

simple as that and following my

game. I think the moment you start

over thinking when you play tennis

is the moment you're going to miss

and not play and today was all about

that. I just followed my thoughts

and you know I miss, I miss, on to

the next one. The next thing you

know the match is over. I mean I

felt I could have played more which

is great. Yeah.

Yes!

Well, just finally, the yes, of

course, it has come up on the big

screen, it means you have qualified

for the semi-finals. You have one

more match to play. How excited are

you to be playing here at the

weekend as well?

Well, that was my

goal. Another step ahead, but still

every match is very important to me.

It doesn't matter if I qualified or

not, I'm just going to follow my

rhythm and follow what I have been

doing right and yeah, keep on

playing. I'm not here just to

participate, I am here to come out

and play game like that, when it

comes to moments like that, I

appreciate it even more.

It was a

special performance today. Well

done, Grigor Dimitrov.

Thanks, guys.

He speaks as well as he plays. He

came out of the blocks firing on all

cylinders, and it was a masterclass

from the young Bulgarian and really

fulfilling his potential and doing

it on a big, big stage and a popular

player around the world. The first

few games, Dimitrov didn't have any

answers.

He said with his movement,

the consistency of his hitting, you

just wonder where Goffin was going

to win points. He only one five of

the 21 points in the match. He only

won 21% and Dimitrov was faultless.

He has got different strings to his

bow, but he gave his opponent so

little and it was a clinic out

there.

When you see David Goffin, he

has got the movement, but he is not

able to get to the shots and

Dimitrov was hitting the corners.

Outplayed and he is world-class and

he can go through to the

semi-finals. He has got to pick

himself up. It is good news that

there is a day's rest and hitting a

few balls, buff got to put this

behind you and realise that

sometimes your opponent is too good.

The first set was over so fast,

everything that could have gone

Dimitrov's way, did go his way and

is just on every ball. He is playing

by instinct, he is not looking at

numbers, he is allowing his talent

to flow. He thinks about a lot of

things, a lot of the time and just

playing to play, to just to play to

win and play with joy. This is what

he can produce.

And aumpb when you

have got more strings to your bow,

it takes you time to find out the

correct strategy. Certainly at

Dimitrov's age 26 you really feel he

is putting the pieces of the puzzle

together and today was an excellent

example.

We have talked about the

next gen wondering who was going to

push? Perhaps we expected too much

at 21, 22, 23 years, the players are

getting older. It takes time to

learn how to manage your game and

manage your life off the court.

Grigor is in all the newspapers the

whole time and the gossip columns,

but now, it really looks like it is

about the tennis and he realises he

has got one shot. The next five or

six years will be fascinating

watching his development.

What is

nice for you is seeing him come into

net...

I thought you were going to

say that I bet Goffin in the match.

That was notable to me against

Thiem. 25 times he came in and today

he wasn't as effective. If he can

look to dictate from the back of the

court and finish the point and his

volleying technique is sound, that's

going to be a dangerous weapon for

him.

So many weapons. The serve was

good.

The serve was good and

everything was good and he is

playing with joy, what more can you

wish for? What more can we wish for?

Somebody that's so attractive to

watch on the court is going to play

a big part in this tournament. He

could go ahead and win this now.

You

guys were talking about the Next Gen

event held in Milan. So many rule

changes, there were shorter sets,

Hawk-Eye, no coaching allowed, it

was fascinating to watch, but what

do the players make of it?

Some

rules are not good. Some rules are

good. The shot clock I really like.

Some players are taking too long

between the points. I think this

would be finished with the shot

clock.

In my opinion having a clock,

you cannot have the best shot

possible. That's my feeling. That's

just my personal opinion, but it

will not be a good idea for the

show, but if they want to go

forward, as I say, no, I have 31,

I'm not 18 anymore. I don't get...

In Milan, the scoring system, I

didn't like it as much because the

sets were too short, too quick and

you don't get even a chance

sometimes if you lose your serve you

don't get a chance to come back. So

that's a little bit tricky with the

shot clock I really like it?

Coaching, also not really.

I think

the automatic line calls are great

because then there is no mistakes in

tennis anymore. That's a great

thing. I think the shot clock, if it

gets adjusted, some changes made to

it, I think that has potential.

I

think it's very interesting to watch

them all and that's what it is there

for is really just to see what is

interesting. What could we learn

from it? The time clock is a good

idea, but do we have to set it in

stone? It becomes quite stressful.

That's why a lot of players were

cramping or feeling stressed about

it. I don't like that every point

counts almost like duvenlt there is

enough pressure moments in a tennis

match. I was enjoying watching the

next generation play in Milan and we

will see when we put everything on

the table and let's pick and choose

what could make the game of tennis

better.

It is interesting. People

want sport to be quicker. It

happened in cricket, and they are

looking at it in tennis and it is

going to have pros and cons.

There

is debate from the fans and the

players. I thought that event was a

fantastic place to really try some

of these things and there is one

aspect of it, you know, for me on

court coaching is, you know, is a

no, no, one of the great histories

and traditions of the sport is

working it out for yourself when it

is one against one. Automatic line

calling system is interesting. If we

have got the technology I think

Hawk-Eye has been a brilliant

addition because we know how hard it

is to call the lines when the ball

is travelling quickly. This is a

debate that's going to go on and on

and I'm sure some of these things

will be implemented in certain

levels of the games.

One player said

right from the word go, it mattered.

But in this shorter set, you don't?

It was extremely rushed at times,

but they were, even though they got

25 seconds between points, Marin

Cilic is not going to have time to

get the ball bounces in on the

serves. I like the shot clock and I

like the automatic line calls. I

don't there is any need to get rid

of the net cords.

Having said that,

the Hawk-Eye adds drama in a match

when it goes to the screen?

Hawk-Eye

can't inform on you like that line

judge. It is not going to walk over

to the umpire! You would lose the

human interaction. If you feel

that's a negative, you can argue

about that. Getting the calls right

is 100%. I think no ad, not on the

first deuce, might be a nice thing

to do. That would lessen the

accelerated feel a bit. If you look

at viewing figures, they go up

towards the end of sets. If you have

more moments of importance like the

end of sets out there, that has to

be good for tennis as a product, I

can see that come in. Tim will say

not in the Grand Slams because there

is not a problem, and I agree with

that.

It would be difficult to do it

during the year and then you come to

a Grand Slam and the next minute you

are on one lasting four hours?

That's right. You could say the same

in cricket. It has been a success,

Twenty20 works. It is about getting

the balance right and you know let's

not forget that the Grand Slams have

been around for a long, long time,

they are the corner stones of our

sport and there isn't anything wrong

with them and I say if it ain't

broke, don't fix it. In some of the

other events if the 250s want to try

it and if it worked its way through

to 250s, 500s and then we saw it in

Masters 1000s then for sure the

slams will look and say, well this

has been a success, is it going to

be beneficial to our events? I think

there is a real talking point. I was

with the serving aspect the no let,

you can hit a net cord on every

other shot so why can't you hit a

net cord on a serve? Having seen it

and understood how the players dealt

with it, there is an easy one that I

would be probably more inclined to

support.

Halfs amazing was the

talent that is coming through in the

game. We're worrying about the likes

of Roger and Rafa coming to the end

of their career and the injuries

that we have seen, but there is some

bright players coming through?

You

don't know really know what you're

going to get.

So, players coming through with

charisma and exciting tennis. Maybe

this generation will be the ones

that can replace the box office

ones.

From that event there is

almost been too much talk about you

know no ads and the automatic like

scoring system. They are great

players. I remember when the evint

was talked about, there was a

question mark are the guys going to

be ranked 200 to 300, is it going to

have appeal? But those are eight

proper players that are going to be

around for a long time. When there

has been talk about Djokovic, Murray

and Federer.

Alexander Zverev could

have been there, he is hashtag, "I'm

already there, thanks."

The Next Gen

radio extent people's careers. We're

back tomorrow on BBC Two for Roger

Federer against Marin Cilic. Tim

will probably choose Cilic. Today,

it was a masterful performance from

Grigor Dimitrov who sent a message

to the others that he is in form. I

hope you enjoyed it as much as we

did. From all of us here, bye-bye.

Dimitrov victory takes him through

to the semi-finals.

He's playing

well, really, really well.

What a

point! Fantastic.

Cruising to the semi-finals on

debut. This is amazing. Oh boy. Poor

old Goffin. Dimitrov completes a

comprehensive victory.